Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday directed “all concerned to gear up preparations in support of national effort” to counter coronavirus in the country, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported.
The army chief chaired the 230th Corps Commanders’ Conference at General Headquarters (GHQ), which according to the military’s media-wing, discussed the emerging situation with regards to COVID-19 — the new coronavirus — and the preventive measures taken at army level.
“COAS directed all concerned to gear up preparations in support of national effort to counter this pandemic in case of any eventuality,” the ISPR said in a statement issued after the meeting.
Forum also discussed emerging situation with regards to COVID-19 and preventive measures taken at Army level. COAS directed all concerned to gear up preparations in support of national effort to counter this pandemic in case of any eventuality. (3/3)
The forum also reviewed the operational preparedness, situation along the Line of Control (LoC), geo-strategic environment and national and regional security situation with particular emphasis on the Afghanistan peace process.
“The path to regional stability and peace passes through Afghanistan. Collaborative approach and patience can help overcome all challenges for which Pakistan is ready to play its part with utmost sincerity,” the army chief emphasised.
With 20 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Pakistan, the panic surrounding the pandemic has increased with people urging the government to take strict and timely actions to contain the virus. While all that is happening, fake news and misinformation regarding the spread of the virus is also circulating on social media, in particular, on Whatsapp.
Below is a screenshot of a message that is widely being shared on social media.
However, according to The Current’s sources, the information in the message is incorrect. To begin with, there were less than 25 students who went on the trip to Turkey. The students were individually screened and cleared by officials present at the airport when they returned to Pakistan. As a precautionary measure, all the students underwent further tests at the hospital to ensure that they don’t have the disease. According to the LUMS official Twitter account, all the results received so far are negative.
21 LUMS students recently returned from Turkey after attending a Model UN Conference. As a precaution, all of these students have been tested for COVID-19. All results received so far are negative. LUMS is putting all measures in place to ensure a safe and healthy campus.
While the rest of the results are yet to come, the students and administration is requesting the public to not spread misinformation and panic.
It is also being reported that the university has extended its mid-semester break till April 7. The break will begin on March 16, as scheduled.
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that had not been previously identified in humans. The virus causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever and in more severe cases, pneumonia. You can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently and avoiding touching your face.
It was discovered in mainland China in mid-December and has since spread globally despite efforts to contain it.
A senior journalist and analyst has left netizens in fits of laughter after claiming that the new coronavirus “probably originated in the corona city of Italy” that is the most affected by the global pandemic.
There is no city called ‘corona’ in Italy, and even if there was, we doubt it could have anything to do with the outbreak of the COVID-19 that, since its discovery in Wuhan city of China, has claimed over 4,500 lives with at least 126,000 infections.
“…it’s happening in Italy that is very much affected and corona[virus] probably originated from its corona area,” senior journalist Nazir Leghari can be heard as saying in a video doing rounds over the internet.
Corona 🍻 would still have some relevance since Corona the car's dead they stopped making em but what's with Corona place in Italy since there's non that I heard of ever existed? Beats me
Some even went on to explain how COVID-19 — the new coronavirus — got its name.
"The name of coronavirus comes from its shape, which resembles a crown or solar corona when imaged using an electron microscope." (Merriam-webster dictionary)
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that had not been previously identified in humans. The virus causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever and in more severe cases, pneumonia. You can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently and avoiding touching your face.
It was discovered in mainland China in mid-December and has since spread globally despite efforts to contain it.
A Sindh government spokesperson, in an exclusive conversation with The Current, has rubbished reports claiming that Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah’s brother-in-law has contracted coronavirus as the pandemic spreads across Karachi.
With nine new cases in Sindh, the total number of cases of the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — in Pakistan on Monday rose to 16, out of which two patients are undergoing treatment in Islamabad while one female patient is undergoing treatment at a health facility in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The development was followed by a private media outlet’s report that one of the persons who had tested positive for coronavirus in Karachi had reached the port city from Syria via Doha on Sunday, and was the brother-in-law of Sindh CM.
“Asif Hyder Shah is a federal secretary and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi after testing positive for COVID-19,” the report had claimed.
The claim, however, was rejected by a spokesperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh. “Asif Hyder Shah is a federal secretary and brother-in-law of Murad Ali Shah, but he hasn’t tested positive for the virus,” the spokesperson told The Current.
While it was confirmed that seven persons who reached Karachi from Syria via Doha had tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two days, CM Murad’s brother-in-law wasn’t among them.
Meanwhile, strict measures have been taken by the government, including extending border closure with Afghanistan for seven more days and installing screening machines at all major airports in the country.
According to reports, the Sindh government is considering a proposal to issue an advisory requesting a ban on public events, including the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and it is likely that the remaining matches of the PSL to be held in Karachi will be shifted to Lahore.
A meeting of the provincial authorities has also recommended setting up a health desk at the Karachi airport.
With the help of the desk, all those entering Karachi through the airport will be screened for the coronavirus. A spokesperson for the health department said health desks will also be established at hospitals, Geo reported.
The desks at hospitals, named front-line desks, will provide up-to-date information about the spread of the virus in the city.
A recommendation to shut schools in the province for a longer period will also be sent to the Sindh CM; exams would, however, be held as per schedule, the Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has said.
Sindh Health Department is mulling over a proposal to issue an advisory for the public and requesting a ban on public events in Karachi, including the Pakistan Super League (PSL), after nine new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the port city on Monday, followed by another two in Sindh on Tuesday.
According to Geo, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are in touch with the Sindh government regarding the fate of the PSL matches that are to be held in Karachi over the next two weeks.
“PCB officials are in constant touch with the Sindh government and attending all the meetings regarding PSL matches in the city,” a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The spokesperson further said that the board would follow the Sindh government’s directives. “However, for now, the matches are still scheduled for Karachi.”
As per the details of the two cases surfacing Tuesday, the first case of the novel coronavirus emerged in Hyderabad. The patient had reportedly come to Pakistan from Doha via Syria. The second case of the virus emerged in Karachi, putting the total tally of cases in the port city at 15.
The total number of infections in Pakistan has now reached 18.
ENGRO SHUTS DOWN KARACHI HARBOUR FRONT OFFICES:
Engro Corporation shut down its offices in the HarbourFront building on Tuesday after an employee was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Engro is a Pakistani multinational conglomerate company with subsidiaries involved in production of fertilizers, foods, chemicals, energy and petrochemicals. Its major subsidiaries, Engro Fertilizers, is one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world.
A statement from the corporation stated that at 1 pm on Tuesday, an employee who worked at the eighth-floor office of the building was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The statement further said that the employee was last in the office for a few hours on Friday, March 6, 2020. The organisation said it had decided to shut its offices for three days “on medical advice from our doctor and in consultation with relevant experts”.
“Only as a precautionary measure, all Engro offices at the HarbourFront building shall remain closed over the next three days, with business to resume on Monday, March 16, 2020,” read the statement.
The organisation told its employees to work from home for the next three days and stated that upon their return, they will be screened for the novel infection.
Meanwhile, Sindh education secretary has dismissed rumours claiming that the provincial government was mulling plans to extend school holidays across the province as the coronavirus pandemic worsens.
Earlier in the day, it had been reported that the provincial health department will send a recommendation to Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah for schools to remain shut for a longer period.
Speaking to a private media outlet, Khalid Shah said the Sindh government was not considering any recommendations seeking an extension in school holidays. “All educational institutions in Sindh will re-open on March 16,” he said.
The decision was taken during a meeting of the health department held on Tuesday morning under the chair of the province’s health minister.
Local English daily had claimed student quarantined at private Karachi hospital under strong suspicions of coronavirus had ‘conclusively tested negative for the disease‘
Sindh health officials have rebutted a media report claiming that the first case of coronavirus in Pakistan, which was reported in Karachi last week, “had turned out to be a hoax” as the 22-year-old patient, who was quarantined at a private hospital under strong suspicions of coronavirus, had “conclusively tested negative for the disease”.
According to The News, Karachi University (KU) student Syed Muhammad Yahya Jafri had recently returned from Iran and developed symptoms of influenza.
“The symptoms, coupled with the fact that he had recently returned from Iran, made the doctors and senior provincial health management prematurely declare him as the first case of coronavirus in Pakistan without receiving his final lab reports wherein he tested negative for the virus,” the report had said.
It had quoted KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mehmood Iraqi as confirming that Jafri’s medical and laboratory reports “clearly indicated he was not suffering from coronavirus”.
“Jafri and his family members who were quarantined by Sindh’s Health Department at a private hospital were discharged on Friday,” he was quoted as saying, adding that a large number of students, including Jafri’s classmates at the varsity’s Department of International Relations, were also tested in the same hospital. “None of them were found affected by coronavirus.”
The claims were, however, refuted by Sindh Health Secretary Zahid Abbasi, who said that the youngster was being kept in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus.
The WhatsApp inbox of almost every Pakistani user has been flooding with myths regarding the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — since first two cases of the disease in the country were confirmed by the government last night.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared an emergency following the global outbreak of the novel virus that has so far claimed over 2,700 lives and left around 81,000 others infected, here are some myth busters you need to know while maybe ignoring all those forwarded messages on WhatsApp.
Does the new coronavirus affect older people, or are younger people also at risk?
According to the WHO, people of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.
WHO advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus, for example by following good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.
Are antibiotics effective in preventing and treating the new coronavirus?
No, antibiotics do not work against viruses, only bacteria.
The new coronavirus is a virus and, therefore, antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment. However, if you are hospitalised for the COVID-19, you may receive antibiotics because bacterial co-infection is possible.
Can eating garlic or putting on sesame oil help prevent coronavirus?
Garlic is a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties. However, there is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people from the new coronavirus.
As for sesame oil, it does not kill the new coronavirus. There are some chemical disinfectants that can kill the 2019-nCoV on surfaces. These include bleach/chlorine-based disinfectants, either solvents, 75% ethanol, peracetic acid and chloroform.
However, they have little or no impact on the virus if you put them on the skin or under your nose. It can even be dangerous to put these chemicals on your skin.
Are there any specific medicines to prevent or treat the new coronavirus?
To date, there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus, however, chloroquine phosphate — used for the treatment of malaria — has so far proven to be the most effective drug against the virus.
Those infected with the virus should receive appropriate care to relieve and treat symptoms, and those with severe illness should receive optimised supportive care. Some specific treatments are under investigation, and will be tested through clinical trials. WHO is helping to accelerate research and development efforts with a range or partners.
Can pets at home spread the coronavirus?
At present, there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus. However, it is always a good idea to wash your hands with soap and water after contact with pets. This protects you against various common bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella that can pass between pets and humans.
